Electric switch.



A, 0. BOTH. ELECTRIC SWITCH.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 14, 1914- 1,172,929; Patented Feb. 22, 1916.

mama s'ra'rns .TONJES AUGUST CARL BOTH, or ramnavnng MassAoHqsn'rTs; ASISIGNORTO RALPH A. scnonnnnne, or nnw YORK, 1v

ELECTRIC swI'rcn.

Patented Feb. 22, I916.

Application filed August 14, 1914-. Serial No. 856,867.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, TONJES A. C. BOTH,

of Fail-haven. in the county of Bristol and State of Massachusetts, have invented im-.

provements in electric switches in which a pivoted actuating member actuates'another member, the latter being pivoted on an axis separate from the axis of the actuating member in order to provide a relatively small movement of the actuating member and'a relatively large movement ofthe actuated member, and I have shown my invention as embodied in a push-button switch.

It is highly desirable in push button switches to have as short a button and button stroke asfpossible for the easy operation of the switch and one of the principal obing member. In the prior art it has been jects of this invention is to furnish a mechanical movement having'such a stroke so as to make the switch easily operative and by using shorter buttons prevent the button from protruding from the switch and there- .by preventing liability of the button being broken or accidentally struck and this is mainly accomplished by placing the contact carrying, or actuated, member on a separate axis from that of the button lever, or actuatcustomary to have the button lever and the contact carrying member on the same axis but by an inventive arrangement of the mechanism I have succeeded in placing the button lever on a pivot separate from that of 4 the contact carrying shaft thereby shortening up the movement of the button, making a shallower button and one easier to operate but retaining a large break of the contacts.

Another important feature of this invention is the releasing of the locking member by directly engaging the operating spring itself. These auxiliary locking or latching parts through continual operation wear and gradually make the switch inoperative. In my device I use the spring itself which is hardened tempered steel or piano wire which will wear a very long time and make the This is .one of the main advantages of this invention as in all prior devices it has required a lock and a latching means for storing up the tension of the spring prior to the moment of thecontact bar being released.

Another feature of this invention is the construction of the entire working parts in such a manner as to avoid the use of rivets.

While I could use rivets I prefer from manufacturing economy to avoid them.

Another feature of my invention is the method of fastening the buttons on the button lever or actuating member. These buttons have punches molded into same and are hooked by means of holes formed in the punches direct to the actuating lever but are loosely mounted thereon so as to give them play when the actuating member, is operated. g

. Another feature of my mechanical movement is the shallowness of the en'tiremech'anism which is particularly desirable for that form of switch known in the trade as F and S'switches which are disclosed in Patent N 0. 872,432 to C. J. Klein, where the button switches can be used asa surface switch and converted into a flush switch by the addition of a cross piece. In a convertible switch of this character it is absolutely essential to have the switch with buttons as short as possible on account of the switch itself protruding from the wall. It is very desirable to have the switch shallow when converted into a flush switch so as to give plenty of room in back of the outlet or'switch box in which it is placed for connecting to tho'wires leading to said box.

In the accompanying drawings :"Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved snap switch with 'jthe cover, hereinafter described, removed; Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is-a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a section on line 44 of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is an inverted plan view of the bracket and actuating lever hereinafter described; Fig. 6 isan inverted plan view of the actuated lever hereinafter described;-

, otally connected at their inner ends with the opposite ends of the lever 3 which is the actuating lever referred to above. The actuating lever 3 is mounted on a bar or pintle .4. that is supported at its ends in a metal yoke-shaped bracket 5 secured by screws 6 to a base 7 of porcelain or the like. The actuating lever 3 is formed at each end with. a hook S that ispivotally interlocked with a metallic punched out tang 9 forming part of the push adjacent button, said tang being made with a slot 10 to receive the hook 8 of said lever. The actuating lever, 3 is also made with two cars or wings 11 each formed with an arcuate slot 12 through which a pintle 1.7, referred to later, extends. The ears 11 are made with inwardly projecting cams 13 and 13", one on each ear, and with inwardly projecting studs 11 and 14", one

operate with the inwardly projecting camand stud of said ear.

The actuated lever referred to above is herein shown as a yoke-shaped lever 16 embracing-the bracket 5 to which it is pivotally connected by a pintle 17 extending through the arcuate slots 12 of the actuating lever 3.

The middle portion-18 of the actuated lever 16 is in the form of a slightly curved plate that is made with a pair of L-shaped slots 1 19 and 19, made near their ends with lateral offsets or pockets 20 and 20 which pro- Vide shoulders 21 and 21 The straight extremity a of the spring extends through slot 19*"- while the straight extremity 1; ex-

tends through the slot 19*, and as will be clear later, said extremities serve as the means through which the actuated lever 16 is operated by the actuating lever The bracket 5 is made with two inwardly extending lugs 22 and 22 which are angularly separated so as to receive between them the two straight ends of the spring 15, and

each of these lugs is made with two stop shoulders, 23 and 24: to cooperate with the adjacent end of spring 15; The two straight or active ends of spring 15 are always confined between the lugs 22 and 22 on bracket 5 and the lugs 14 and 14 on actuating lever 3. \Vith the push buttons in the posi tions shown in the drawings, the end a of spring 15 is pressing against the shoulder 23 and the opposite end Z) of said spring is pressing against the shoulder 24.- upon the opposite side of braclcet 5, and at the same time the end a occupies the oifset of slot 19 so that the actuated lever is held thereby at one extremity of its movement, while the end I) extends through the slot 19*free of the ofi'set 20 of said slot. When the push button 2 is depressed the actuating lever 3- 1s swung on pintle 4 and the stud 14: on said lever carries with it the end I) of spring 15 thereby increasing the tension of the latter while the cam 13 shoves the end a of spring .15 laterally. out of the offset or pocket 20 of slot 19, and also out of engagement with the shoulder 23. As soon as the end a of spring 15 clears the shoulder 23, said end snaps ahead into position against the shoulder 24 and at the same time acts against the end of slot 19*, to carry the actuated lever '16 with it, shifting said lever from its open to its closed position. That is. said'lever 16 is swung from one extreme of its movement to the opposite extreme thereof by the end a. At the completion of the snap movement of lever 16 the end I) of spring 15 springs laterally into the offset pocket 20 and into position behind shoulder 23* thereby interlocking said end with the actuated lever 16 and with bracket 5, while the opposite end a of spring 15 occupies a position in slot 19 near, but not within, the offset 20. When the push button 1 is depressed the 111g 11 increases the tension of spring 15 by carrying the end a alongslot 19 with it, while the cam 13 is shoving the end 6 out of the offset 20 and out of en- 13" disengagcs end 6 from shoulder 28' said end 7) snaps the actuated lever 16 back to its first and open position again, the shoulder 24* serving as a stop to limit the movement of the end I) in this direction.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the spring 15 yieldingly holds the actuating lever 3 against movement on its pintle 4, and such movement can occur only when the spring 15 is overcome by pressure of one or the other of push buttons. It will be clear also, that when either one of the push buttons is depressed the resulting movement of actuating lever 3 causes the cam 13, or13 thereof to disengage the end, a, or b, from its shoulder 23, or 23 on bracket5 so as toallow said end to snap or swingahead angularlyagainst its shoulder 24 or 2 1, and reverse the position of the actuated lever '16. v

The actuated lever. 16 carries a bridge piece 25 which is insulated from sa-idlever by insulation 26. The bridge piece 25 00- operates withcontacts-27 and 28 fastened by screws 25 to the base 7. The contacts 27 are provided withbinding screws 30 by means of which the wires 31-,of't-he circuit controlled by the switch are connected with the said contacts. The base 7 is made with perforationsv32 through which the wires 31 may be led to the binding screws 30.

The push buttons 1 and 2 are supported and guided by a metal plate 33' secured to the bracket 5. A cover 34 having a lining gagement with the shoulder 23*. When cam of insulating material, and holes 36 through which the push buttonsl and 2 extend, is held in position against the outer face of base 7;.by means of screws 37 which may extend through perforations 38in'base 7 and be made of sufficlent length to secure the switch in place on its support.

The construction above described {no .5 vides a complete. molding snap switch but when the switch is to bet set flush into a wall I employ the attaching and supporting plate 37 shown in Fig. 7. The plate 37 is provided .with two apertures 28 whiclrad-apt it 10 to he slipped down over the push buttons onto the top of cover 3% as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3. Plate 37 is also made with a pair of holes 35) adapted to register with the screw holes in cover 34. so that said plate 37, cover 34 and base 7 may be fastened together by bolts or the like, the extremities of the plate 37 extending bevond the witch and being provided with perforations 40 to receive screws or; the like by means of which said plate is fastened to the wall.

lVhat I claim is:

1. A switch comprising a coiled spring having a projecting active end; ineansv to tension the spring: means to move said end parallel to the axis of the coiled spring to free said end; and an actuated member operated by said freed end to make a circuit.

2. A switch comprising an immovable member; an oscillating actuating member; a

coiled spring rendered operative by the cooperative action of said immovable and actuating members and having a projecting end to engage said immovable member while the spring is being put under tension, said end after said tension being disengaged from the immovable member by movement parallel to the axis of the coiled spring; and a contact-carrying member actuated by said spring.

3. A switch comprising an immovable member; a coiled spring having two active ends; an oscillating actuating member which, when moved in one direction, moves one of said active ends to tension the spring,

ating member when the tension is complete,

said actuating member when moved in the opposite direction moving said other active end to tension the spring, the first-mentioned end being in engagementwith said immovable member during the tensioning and released therefrom by the actuating member when the tension is complete; and a contactcarrying member actuated in either directlon by the active end when so released.

4. A switch comprising an immovable frame; an oscillating actuating member; a spring having an end to engage the immov able member and rendered operative by the frame and actuatingmembers; and an oscillating contact carrying member having a slot parallel to its axis, said end of the spring being released from said frame by movement in said slot parallel to said axis and when released operating said contactcarrying member.

5. switch comprising push buttons; a lever actuated by the push buttons; a shaft upon which said lever is mounted; a spring coiled about said shaft and having two projecting ends; a frame having two portions to limit movementof one of said ends in a direction about said shaft and another portion to'resist the action of said end of the spring in a direction along said shaft; a' cam on said lever to move said end out of engagement with one of said limiting portions so that said end may swing about said shaft as an axis; a contact lever operated directly by the movement of said end; and means to tension said spring as said end passes along said cam.

(3. In a switch of the character described the combination of an immovable member; a spring having two active ends; a. push button lever to engage one of said ends to tension the spring, the other end engaging said member-to cooperate in said tensioning; means carried by said lever to disengage said other of said ends from said member; and a contact member operated by said disengaged end, said member remaining immovable during the movement of the contact member.

I 7. In a switch of the character described the combination of an actuating lever having two cams and two shoulders; a spring having two active ends; a frame having at one side a tensioning shoulder, a limiting shoulder and a portion to prevent outward movement of one of said active ends and having at the other side two such shoulders and a similar portion to engage the other of said active ends; and a contact member, all combined to tension the spring and then release it so that it will directly engage and operate the contact member.

8. A switch' comprising an immovable member; an oscillating actuating member; a spring coiled about an immovable axis, adapted to engage said immovable member and rendered operative by the cooperative action of said immovable and actuating members and disengaged from said immov able member by direct actuation of the actuating member on said spring; a terminal; and a contact-carrying member actuated by the spring when so disengaged to move the contact into engagement with said terminal.

9. A switch comprising an immovable member; 'an oscillating a'ctuating member;

a coiled spring renderedoperative by the cooperative action of said immovable and actuating. members and having a projecting end to engage saidimmovable member while the spring is being put under tension, said end after said tension being disengaged from the immovable member by movement parallel to the axis of the coiled spring; and a contact-carrying member actuated by the spring to make the cirduit.

10. A switch comprising an immovable member; a coiled spring having two active ends; an oscillating actuating member which, when moved in one direction, moves one of said active ends to tension the spring, the other active end being in engagement with said immovable member during the tensioning and said other active end being released from such engagement by direct actuation of the actuating member on said other active end when the tension is complete, said actuating member when moved in the opposite direction moving said other active end to tension the spring, the firstmentioned end being in engagement with said immovable member during the tensioning and released therefrom by the actuating member when the tension is complete; and a contact-carrying member actuated by one of said active ends when released to make the circuit and actuated by the other of said active ends when released to break the circuit.

11. A switch comprising an immovable member; an actuating member; means to oscillate the actuating member; a spring put under tension by said members and relieved from said tension by the direct engagement of said actuating member on said spring; and an actuated member operated by the spring when so relieved.

TONJES AUGUST CARL BOTH. Witnesses:

MORTIMER THALHEIMER, LEON STRAUSS. 

